[Bounci]

This video is from The Bowery (1933), which was about two rival bar owners and firemen (yes, really!), played by Wallace Beery and George Raft, and would likely not see the light of day in this day and age. The casual violence, gangsters, illegal booze, cabaret showgirls in skimpy costumes and a scene where innocent Fay Wray is chatted up by two blokes clearly looking to put her into prostitution would of had the Hayes code in a fit back then, but today it would be the casual racism that would see this barred. The very first thing you see in this film is an eye opener, while the farcical scene where the rivals fight each other to be the first to put out a fire where Chinamen are stuck in a burning building is surreal.

As it is, this video concerns the two cabaret acts that perform in Wallace Beery's bar, headed by the unlikely named Pert Kelton as head showgirl. The 1st act features the girls dressed as Can Can Dancers, the 2nd as Sailor Girls, with the girls wearing skimpy knickers barely covering their bums, while their tops barely contained their bosoms. But the one you can't take your eyes off is Pert herself, who is probably the best thing in the film. Pert really WAS her real name - named after a character in a play by her grandma - and she livened up many a film in the 1930's (check her out in Sing and Like It from 1934). Here she throws herself into the role with gusto, but the most memorable thing in this is her singing. Let's just say I had never heard anything like it - and after this, neither will you! Memorable is an understatement...